Automatic servo braking for motor vehicles



April 9, 1940- JEAN-BAPTISTE P. VAU

AUTOMATIC SERVO BRAKING FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed July 19, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 lwv/enf April 9, 0- JEAN-BAPTISTE P. V-AU 2.196.346

AUTOMATIC SERVO BRAKING FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed July 19, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 MI! (j April 9, 1940.

JEAN-BAPTISTE P. VAU

AUTOMATIC SERVO BRAKING FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed July 19, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 JJBfPVa April 9, 1940. JEAN-BAPTISTE P. VAU

AUTOMATIC SERVO BRAKING FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed July 19, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 &

Patented Apr. 9, 1940 PATENT OFF-ICE,

AUTOMATIC SERVO BRAKING FOR. MOTOR VEHICLES;

. I I Jean-Baptiste Paul Van, Saint-(men, France.

Application July 19, '1938,'Serial -No 2201151 In France-July 23,1937

' 6 Claims. (01. lea-s).

The present invention relates to improvements in theservo braking device formotor vehicles'in which a singlepedal, controlled by thesole of the drivers foot, operates on the one hand, dur- 5' ing a part of'its stroke, the device regulating the feed tothe engine; and on the other hand, during another part of its stroke; a servo-motor actuatingthebrakes, these latter being'applied during' the return of the said' pedal to its rest posilib tion by the effect of a returnforce, produced for instance by a spring.

Such a device hasa disadvantage due-to the fact that if by reason of an improper reflex movement owing, for instance, to a lack of ex- I 15 periencewith the-newdevice, or from any other cause; the drivers fot sh0u1d suddenly leave the floor of the vehicle, the brake will be applied" in an untimely manner. Ontheother hand; if the usual brake pedal" has beenleft upon the vehicle, the use of this latter -will" afford an addition to theeifect of the automatic bra-king; but in order to stop the-braking entirely, it is necessary to again press down the combination pedal.

-Moreover, if it is desired to allow the foot'to The invention has chiefly for its object to ob-- viatesuch drawbacks-,and it is principally characterized by the fact that it consists of a mech-- anism for cutting oif theautomatic braking, which mechanism comprises a member, cooperating with any of the partsof the-braking system in order'to control the operating of the saidsystem, this device being itself'controlledby a movable member'so arranged that the-'drivers'.

heel will rest upon it when the footis in the proper position for pressing downthe pedal, and

which is urged by a force which is contrary to the action of the foot upon the said movable member, the whole combination being so ar- 45 ranged that the braking: system can only apply the brakes when the foot isresting upon the said movable member.

, An. improvement which: is complementary" tothe preceding consistsin the fact." thatthis cutoff mechanism further comprises means which cooperate with any one of the other members of.

the said cut -off mechanism or of the braking,

device, in order to prevent. the: return movement.

at the said foot supportfronr. again placing thebra-king systeminan operative position, and re turning means which depend upon the combined pedal used for acceleration and braking; in order that this prolongation of the inoperativeness of the automatic braking system shallcease when the said pedaliis again' pressed by the foot.

This will prevent the occurrence of a sudden and. undesired application of thebrake if the. driver should first place his heel upon the foot support without placing, the sole of the foot at the same time upon thecombinationpedal. On the other hand, the combination pedal maybe released without any previous. operation, in or-- der'to allow: the motto rest. 1 The" value-ofthe cut-off mechanism will be increased if,-and this is another improvement com prised inthe invention, the usual brake pedal'of the vehicleihasi been preserved, as in this case the driver, who by reason of a recurrence of customary: reflex actiomtries to brake by the medium: of this usualbrake pedal, will find this in itsusualplace and can brake the vehicle as if v the automatic braking system did not exist. In

this case, itis advantageousthatthis brakepedal be connected with the member controlling the. operation of the. servo brake by a lost motion connection; and-preferably by means ofa device adapted. to dividethe thrust of the foot into a direct. force up'ontthe; brakes, anda force which is: practically proportional to this thrust, upon the control leading tothe servo-motor.

' Obviously, the invention may be embodied in many various ways, andsome embodiments will be described, thereafter byway of examples'only.

In the accompanying. drawings:

Fig; I diagrammatically shows an embodiment comprisingthe various improvements to be further set forth, the whole arrangement being represented in theposition f'or the free operation the? automatic braking mechanism; I

Figs.'2 and 3- are partial diagrammatic views of the embodiment-shown in Fig.1, and bothshow the: automatic. braking mechanism held inoperativeby the cut-off mechanism, but in two diflerent stagesof operation; A Fig; 4 is aview on'a-L larger scale. of a detail shown inFi'gs. 1 to:3

Fig 5- is a diagrammaticview, similar to Fig. l, of" a modified embodiment 6 shows the addition, to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5;. ofanauxiliary device whereby the automaticbraking mechanism may be kept inoperative, whatever. he the. positionv of the. cut-off mechanism;

. Eigszfi. andz8.,areviews showing respectively, at two stages: oi its: operation, an auxiliary device which may eventually be incorporated. in the cutoff mechanism;

Fig. 9 shows in vertical section along line IX-IX of Fig. 10 a modified embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view along line X-X of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic View of the arrangement on a motor car of the cut-ofimechanism illustrated in Fig. 9;

Figs. 12 to 14 illustrate a part of the device shown in Fig. 10 at various stages of its operation; and

Fig. 15 shows a modification of the apparatus represented in Fig. 9.

In the various embodiments herein represented, l designates one of the vehicle brakes, 2 the servo motor device, including a piston ,which is connected with the brake and is movable against a spring in a cylinder communicating with a conduit 3 through which means, not shown, but known are capable of varying the pressure of a fluid in contact with one face of the piston, under the control of a member 4 such as a cock or other progressive throttling means, which is mounted on this conduit and serves to control the said pressure, i. e., the brake applying force developed by the servo brake.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the mechanism for automatic braking is of a known type in which the control member 4 is urged back by a spring 5 into the brake release position, as here represented, and is connected by a crank-arm carrying a pin, engaged in the slot of a slotted link 6, with a pedal 1. This latter is also connected by a slotted link 8, and a crank, provided with a pin engaged in the slot of said link 8, with the engine throttle 9 or like member for regulating the feed to the engine on the vehicle, which throttle is urged by a spring ID to a position corresponding to the idling running of the engine. A spring II, which is stronger than each of the springs 5 or NJ, urges back the pedal 1 againstthe action of the foot upon the pedal, and the whole device is so arranged that for a mean position of the pedal (as shown in Fig. 1) the slotted part or guide of the link 6 which controls the braking, shall be in contact with the pin of the corresponding crank at the end ofthe said guide which is farthest from the pedal 1, the guide of the link 8 controlling the engine feed being in contact with the pin of the corresponding crank at the end of the guide which is nearest the pedal 1. It will thus be observed that when the pedal is pressed down, against the spring II, in order to bring it from position II to position III, the link 8 will move the throttle 9 in the direction for its opening, while the guide of the link 6 will slide upon the corresponding pin, and the control member 4 remains stationary. During the return movement of the pedal 1 from position III to position II by the action of the spring H, the guide of the link Swill slide in the contrary direction upon its pin, while the spring I returns the throttle 9 to the position represented. When the spring H is allowed to bring the pedal from position II to the rest position I, the link 6 operates the control member 4 of the servo-motor 2, and this latter will enter into action with a gradually increasing force, while the member 9 remains stationary, the link 8 sliding upon the corresponding crank pin. Inversely, when the foot presses down the pedal 1 to bring itfrom position I. to. position II against the action of the spring H, the spring will bring the member 4 into the position represented, thus gradually decreasing the action of the servo brake, while the guide of the link 8 will slide upon the corresponding pin which returns to the position here represented.

In the embodiment of cut-off mechanism represented in Fig. 1, a movable plate l3 serves as a support for the heel of the foot, when this latter, as here represented, is in the proper position for pressing with the sole of the foot upon the combination pedal 1. At this time, the said plate rests fiatwise, upon the floor of the vehicle. The said plate [3 is pivoted at its forward end to a horizontal pin [4 provided on an arm I 5 carried by a horizontal stud I6 and is movable with anotherarm I! also carried by said stud l6 which is supported by a bracket [8 secured under the front board I9, and a spring 28 urges the two arms l5 and I! to turn about in such way that the plate I3 will no longer rest flatwise on the floor. The arm I! is provided with a projecting end 2| arranged for cooperation with an extension 22 of the pedal 1 which is the member of the automatic braking system herein selected to be controlled by the cut oil mechanism. The whole arrangement is so designed that when the plate l3 rests flatwise on the floor of the vehicle, the end 2| of the arm I! will be out of the path of the extension 22 while the pedal is moving from the rest position II to the position I of full braking, but that it will be situated in this path, and quite near the position II when the arms I5 and I! have turned by the action of the spring 20 and have thus brought the plate I3 into the position shown in Fig. 2.

It will thus be observed that when the drivers foot rests upon the plate l3, the automatic braking mechanism can operate freely, since nothing prevents the pedal from moving in both directions between the positions I and II under the control of the sole of the foot. On the contrary,

when the foot no longer rests upon the said plate l3 (Fig. 2), this latter will rise by the action of the spring 20, the arms l5 and I! will turn, and the extension 22 now makes contact with the end part or movable stop 2|, thus preventing the pedal 1 from moving beyond the position II, the spring 20 being strong enough to overcome the action of the spring H. The automatic braking mechanism is thus put out of use.

In order that when the foot is placed again upon the plate l3 without pressing at the same time upon the pedal 1, as shown in Fig. 3, the automatic braking mechanism shall not be released, the following device is provided (Fig. 4). Upon a pin 24 carried by the bracket I8 is pivoted a member 25 the stroke of which is limited by a pin 26 secured to the bracket and engaged in a slot 27 formed in the member 25. A pawl 29 is pivoted at 30 to the member 25, and its lower part is pressed against said member by a spring bolt 3| carried by the member 25 which is also provided with a projection 32, extending in the path of the arm H, in order that said arm, when pivoting to return to its stop position when the plate I3 is released, will tumthe member 25, thus bringing the pawl 29 into a position in which it will have the same efiect as the arm [7, i. e., it will form a stop situated in the return path of one of the members of the automatic braking mechanism, which in this case .is the extension 22, of thepedal I.

If the 7 heel .is nowplaced upon :the plate I3 without pressing the pedal 1 with. the sole of the .foot (Fig. 3), the arm I! willrock back, but the pedal I is kept. stationary by the pawl .29 which prevents it from turning back beyond the position 11, since themember 25 is stopped by the pin 26, and thus the automatic braking mechanism is kept inoperative.v In order to renderagain operative the said mechanism there is provided a return spring 35 which tends to rotate the member 25 in the direction opposite to that of the rotation imparted to it by the arm I1. It is clear that the action of this spring 35 is controlled by the combination pedal 1, for when the pedal is pressed down, the extension 22 will move away from the pawl 29, thus allowing the member 25 to pivot about by the action of the spring 35, and to bring the pawl 29 out of the return path of the extension 22. The automatic braking mechanism will now be again capable of applying the brakes.

In order that the driver may eventually employ the usual brake control pedal 40 while at the same time using the servo-motor 2, the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 comprises thefollowing device. The pedal 45, which is pivoted at M to a bracket 42 secured to the floor and is controlled by a return spring 43, carries a pin 44 engaged in a slide 45 which is interposed in the transmission betweenthe servoemotor 2 and the brakes I. To the said slide is pivoted a lever 46 which a spring 4'! attached to said lever and to the pedal 40 maintains in the path of the pin 44 when the pedal 45 is pressed down, and the said lever 46 is connected by a link 48 provided with a slide and by a crank and. pin, with the control member 4 of the servo-motor 2 in such way that this member 4, when it is in its rest position, maybe operated by either of the links 6 or 48, the crank pin of the crank other than that through which it is moved at this timesliding idly in the correspond ing slide. Moreover, the connection between the servo-motor 2 and the slide 45 is also made by a pin 49 engaged in the said slide so that when the brake pedal is pressed down, the slide 45 will slide upon the pin 49'without having any action upon the servo-motor 2.

The operation of the automatic braking mechanism and of the cut-off mechanism remains exactly the same as in the preceding case, for when the pedal I is moved in either direction between the positions I and II, the pin associated with the slide-rod 48 will move freely in its slide, while the transmission between the servo-motor and the brakes 3 will operate without the pin 49 sliding in the slide 45. nism, it is only connected with the automatic braking mechanism. Accordingly,v when the foot is lifted from the plate I3, the cut-ofi mechanism will lock the automatic braking mechanism, but by pushing the pedal 40 with the foot, this pedal will turn about the shaft 4|, thus causing-the pin 44 to slide in the slide 45. The thrust now exerted by this pin upon the lever 46 can be decomposed into two forces which act respectively the one to turn the lever 46 against the spring 4'! and the other to move the guide 45 while applying the brakes I. The pivoting of the lever 46 causes, by means of the link 48 a displacement of the member 4 controlling the servo-motor '2, which thus comes into action and which,- through the medium of the pin 49exerts upon the slide 45 a force which. is added to the force directly applied .toit by the pin :44; the valueof the force thus produced by the :servo brake. will As regards the cut-off mechadepend upon the value of the thrust of the foot upon the pedal. 40, as in all the usual braking mechanisms. If 'for any reason the servo-motor 2 should not be in working condition, the slide 45 Wouldmove freely upon the pin 49', and the brake" 3 would-be operated only by the force of the foot upon the pedal 43. At all events, when the pedal 40 is released, the spring 43 will bring it into the rest position as shown in Fig. 1, the spring 41 will bring back .the lever 46 and the link 48, and the control member 4 for the servo-motor 2 will now be returned to the rest position, by the spring 5, while the slide 45 will return to the position shown in Fig. 1 by the action of the usual returnspring (not shown) of the brakes I.

In the embodiment of Fig. 5, the mechanism for the combined control of the brakes and the engine difiers from the one just described, by this that the combination pedal 1 is adapted for pivotingv instead of for sliding, and that the transmissions between the combination pedal 1 and the devices 4 and 9 which control respectively the braking servo-motor 2 and the engine feed,

are quite positive in both directions, and are of the type described in my co-pending application of August 17, 1937, Sal No. 159,582, but the move-' ments of the members 4 and 9 in dependence on the movements of the pedal 1' are the same as above mentioned, the pedal I being urged toturn in the direction f by its return spring I I.

The cut-off mechanism differs also from the preceding only by the shape of the arm I5 and of the extension 22 of th pedal 1, and by the fact that the member 25 is not pivoted to a fixed bracket but to a movable carrier I5 which is here mounted on the pivot pin I6 of the arms j I5 and II. The mechanism for braking by the usual brake pedal 40 here comprises the same parts as are shown in Fig. 1, but the pivoting lever 46 is now connected with the carrier It by a link 53.

II, and thus the automatic braking mechanism will come into action, not automatically in this case, but by the action of the foot upon the usual brake pedal 40. The value oi the contribution given by this mechanism to the direct braking force due to the pedal 4-0, will depend upon the position taken by the pedal I between itsend positions II and I, which position depends upon the position of the lever 45, i. e., upon the pression of the foot upon the pedal 40.

It will be noted that in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the servo-motor 2 and its control member 4 are the only parts of the automatic braking mechanism which are actuated when the pedal 40 is pressed down, the cut-off mechanism still holding the whole mechanism for the automatic braking, while in this case the pushing of the pedal 40 will counteract the eifect of the cut-off mechanism and will provide for the operation of the whole of the automatic braking mechanism, but under the control of the pedal 40. When this pedal 40 is released, the spring 41 will bring back the lever 45', the link 53 and the carrier-"I8" into the position which they had before thepedal was pressed down, and the arm IT, by

the efiect of its return spring 20 will follow this movement of the carrier I8, Without there having been at any time any such separation between the members I1 and 25 as would allow the member 25 to return to its rest position by the action of the spring 35. During the return movement of the arm H, the end part 2I will turn the extension 22 in the contrary direction to f, and this will bring back the pedal 1" to the position II and will again put the automatic braking mechanism out of action, and this mechanism will only be entirely released by the simultaneous pressing of the pedal I beyond the position II, and of the plate I3, as in the case shown in Fig. 1.

If it should be desired to eliminate all action of the automatic braking mechanism, it is possible to use with the cut-01f mechanism, a device which is shown in Fig. 6 as applied to the apparatus shown in Fig. 5. A catch 58 operated by a cable 59 from a handle 68 within reach of the driver, located for instance on the front board 6|, is mounted on the carrier I8 of the member 25 in such way that by a traction upon the cable 59 it will hold the member 25 in its stop position and will prevent it from turning aside by the action of the spring 35. It will be observed that in the devices above described, the weight of the drivers foot and leg will alone act upon the plate I3 in order to hold it down, to the exclusion of any lengthwise thrust of the leg, as the pivot pin I6 of the arms I5 and I1 is substantially in line with such thrust. It is eventually possible to make use of a longitudinal thrust of the leg to contribute to hold the plate I3 in its lowered position, by placing the said pivot pin I6 in a sufficiently high position in order that a thrust of this kind will produce a substantial torque relatively to said pin.

On the other hand, in order that the plate I3 shall not exert an excessive lifting force upon the foot, use may be made of a device such as is represented in Figs. 7 and 8, and this can be employed whatever he the construction employed for the automatic braking mechanism and the cut-off mechanism. In this device, the plate I3a is connected with the arm I5a by a pin engaged in a slide, and a spring 65 which is stretched between the said arm and plate will urge the said plate against an inclined member 66 having at its lower part a notch 68, and thus when the said plate is engaged in the notch, the lifting force of the spring 28 or 28 is counteracted for a great part by the upper edge of this notch, and hence the remaining force which is imparted to the foot may be as reduced as desired, whatever be the force of the spring 28 or 20'.

Obviously, the invention is not limited to the details of construction herein described or represented. Thus it is chiefly to be noted that instead of using the combination pedal as the part of the automatic braking mechanism which is actuated by the cut-off mechanism, it is possible to make use of any other part, such as the control member of the servo-motor, or even the servomotor itself, by combining with the latter a cock or valve the opening of which only will be produced by the cut-off mechanism as the plate I3 is being raised, the plate I3 releasing at the same time a device allowing the said cock or valve to be closed when the combination pedal is subsequently pushed down. Moreover, the transmissions between the movable plate of the cutoff mechanism and the parts of this mechanism which act directly upon the automatic braking mechanism can be assured by electric, pneumatic or hydraulic means, or by combinations of the same. The. same will prevail as concerns the connections between the automatic braking mechanism, the usual brake pedal, and the cut-off mechanism.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 9, the combination pedal 1b (Fig. 11) is carried by a rod I5 fitted at one end into a collar provided with a socket 'I'I secured on a horizontal stud I8 which is carried by two outer flanges I9 of a casing 80. The said rod I5 is urged in rotation in the direction ,1 by a torsion spring BI which serves as the return spring for the pedal lb. The casing 80 is mounted on the front part of the scuttle 82, as shown in Fig. 11, by means of screws passing through holes in the scuttle and engaged into tapped holes 83 on the rear side of the casing 80, the flanges I9 projecting through an aperture 84 in the scuttle. The casing 88 is provided with an aperture 85 located between the two flanges I9, and a member 81 extends through the said aperture into the casing 80 which member consists of a U-shaped piece of sheet metal whose two branches are traversed, near their base, by the stud 18 to which they are secured. At their free ends, the two branches are connected together by screws 88 which also pass through a hook 88 located between the ends of these two branches. The two screws 88 are terminated, one on one side of the U, and the other on the opposite side, by a smooth part 90, which serves as a pivot for a toggle joint 9|, 92. The toggle joint 9! is secured on the other hand to an end of a horizontal pin 93 which extends through the lateral face of the casing 88. On the part of the pin 93 which extends outside of the casing 80 is secured a lever 84 which is connected by any means, not shown, to the throttle of the carburettor. Likewise the second toggle joint 92 is secured on an end of a pin 95 similar to the pin 94, but which extends through the opposite wall of the casing 80 and on the outer end of which is secured a lever 96 which is connected, by any means, with the member controlling the servo-motor used for the braking. In register with the hook 89 is provided a pawl lI located between the two flanges 98 of a U-shaped support which is secured by its back part 99 to a closing plate I00 adapted to close an opening Iflfla in the side of the casing, opposite the aperture 85. The pawl 91 is simply suspended from a pin IIlI which is carried by the flanges 98 and extends through a slot I02 in the pawl 91. At the rear of the said pawl is provided a slidable rod I03 which extends through the plate I80 and the back part 89 of the support of the pawl, and a spring I04 urges the said rod against the back of the pawl 91. At the exterior, the cover plate I60 carries a contact box I05 of the known automobile type, containing two contact-pieces I06 and I01, which are connected to two respective external terminals Illfia and Iflla. A push piece I88 made of insulating material projects inside said box I85 and is provided with an extension which passes through the plate Ill) and the back part 99 of the pawl support, and whose end projects between the flanges 98 of the said support.

At the centre of the casing 80 is provided a vertical rod III] which passes between the branches of the U-shaped piece 8'1, and which carries at its upper end a piston I I I fitted in the separately-secured upper part of the casing 80; at its lower part, the said rod I I0 passes through a guiding hole in the said casing, and rests upon the wall of the casing by means of an enlarged 7 stantly upon the said rod I34.

as a valve.

moved out of engagement with the pawl 91 *(Fig. .13.); Owing "to the thrust of the pushrod I03,

the pawl 91 nowturns about its point of contact with the pin H3, its head comes below the part I I2. Atransverse pin I.I.3,'which is mounted at the lower end of. the :said' rod, iand'xwhose head is engaged between the fianges;98, .prevents the rod from turning. Between the piston III and the upper end of the casing 80 is provided a return spring I I for the piston. A recess H6 is formed in this end, and it isconnectedby an aperture ill with the interior of the casing'BII; it is also connected by a coupling piece III! and a conduit I I9 with the suction :pipe of the engine of the car. In the upper wall of'the recess H6 is formedan aperture into whichzis fitted an electro-magnet I2I whose coreis in register with the hole :I I1 andcomprises a lower movable-part I22; the end of said movable part has 'suchshape that it can close the aperture 1:" and thus serve The said member I22 ;is further provided with an axial bore I24 which :opens -.at:its lower end .butis blind at the upper end; inclined vents I25, however, connect the said bore I24 with the periphery of the upper end of the memher I 22. The central part oithis upper end is adapted to close a hole I26 which extends through the stationary upperypart I21 of the central core of the electro-magnet, and communicates with the atmosphere. A small perforated cap I29 covers the outer end of the said .hole I25. The electro-magnet I2! is further provided as usual with terminals I3ii and I3I for the supply of current.

On the other hand (Fig. 11), below the plate I3b which is directly pivoted at 'its front end to the floor I32 of the vehicle, is provided an electric switch I33 comprising a push rod I34 which extends through the floor and is urged upwardly by a spring I35. The said spring is sufiicien'tly strong to hold up the plate I317, which rests con- The switch I33 is provided in a wire I33 leading from one terminal I39 of the electro-magnet. I3I, to earth. The other terminal, I29, of the electro-magnet is connected by a wire I37 to the terminal I05 of the contact-box I05, whose other terminal I0! is connected by a wire I38 to the supply cable I39 connecting the ignition coil I40 tothestorage battery IM through the medium .ofthe usual ignition switch provided on'the instrument board The operation is as follows: when the sole'oi the drivers foot presses upon the plate I31), he pivots it downwardly to a slight degree against the spring I35, thus driving in the push rod I34 and opening the switch I33. No current can then flowin the wires I38 and I33. If his heel should leave the said plate I312, the spring I35 'ning of this movement of the rod III]. the stud H3 in contact with the cam-shaped edge of the pawl 91 will drive the latter against the pushpiece I03, as shown in Fig. 12, owing to the fact that the pawl is prevented from. pivoting about,

' due to the contact between its end and the hook 89. The shoulder II2 then makes contact with the under side of the member 87, thus lifting it as well as the hook 89 which will thus be fall due "to the thrust of the spring II5. pedal 'Ib and the member 81, which are urged hook 89, and its lower end drives out the push piece H33, thus separating the contact pieces Hi6 and I3! (Fig. 13). The circuit of the electromagnet 12! being thus broken, the movablecore 22 falls and closes the hole IIl, thus cutting ed the connection between the cylinder .of the piston II and the'suction conduit H9, while at the same time uncovering the aperture I25, thus connecting the said cylinder with the atmosphere. Yet, the piston III and the rod H0 will The back by the spring 8!, now tend to pivot about in the direction f, but the pawl 91, being ;now;in

the path of the hook 83, will stop this latter (Fig; 14), thus preventing the pedal from'returning to its rest position. The thrust of "the hook :BS'upon the end of the pawl 91 will now urge this latter to turn about the pin I EL and thus the lower endof the pawl will hold the push piece H18 in the position where the contacts I03- but no other effect will take place, as no current is flowing in the wire I35 owing to the separation'between the contactpieces I03 and I91, and hence the automatic braking mechanism remains out .of action.

On the contrary, when again pressing with the sole of the foot upon the combination pedal ID, the driver will cause it to turn, together with the member 81, in the direction. contrary to f, thus raising the hook I33 and releasing the point of the pawl 97. This latter will then turn about the pin I I2! by the action of the push-piece I I13, so that its point will come outside of the path of the hook 853 and its lower end will release the push piece I 38. The contact pieces Hi6 and I I0! then come back into engagement and drive back the push-piece Hi8. If at this time the drivers foot is not again placed upon the plate 13b, the above mentioned operation will be repeated, in order to prevent the automatic braking mechanismfrom working, as soon as the pedal 1b moves beyond its mean position to enter the region in which it controls the braking.

It will thus be understood that it is only by the simultaneous pressing of the sole of the drivers foot upon the pedal 'Ib, and of his heel upon the plate I31) that the automatic braking mechanism can be released and made ready again for further action.

Fig. 11 also represents an auxiliary device which serves to facilitate the control of the speed-changing box. The said device comprises a push-button switch I 59 which is provided on lever I5! in order to operate the gear box. By

this closing, a current will flow in the electromagnet, HI, and the mechanism for placing the automatic braking device out of action will operate as if the switch I33 had been closed.

The apparatus shown in Fig. 9 further cornprises within the casing 80, a fork I52 which is engaged in a groove in the enlarged part I I2 and is carried by a shaft I53. Said shaft is connected by means, not shown, with a handle provided on the instmment board, in such way that when the handle is turned, this will turn the shaft I53 and the fork I52, thus raising the rod II!) and placing the automatic braking mechanism out of action.

In Fig. 15, which shows a modification of the apparatus represented in Fig. 9, the rod III! is secured directly to the movable part I55 of the core of an electro-magnet I56 which is placed upon the upper part of the casing 88 and is supplied with current by the terminals I30 and I3I' which are connected in the same way as the terminals I30 and m of the electro-magnet I2l.

What 'I claim is:

1. With control means of both the engine running and the brakes in a motor car, of the type including a pedal adapted for reciprocal rocking motion about a substantially horizontal axis, a return spring urging said pedal into a rest position, a brake applying mechanism including servo-power means and a movable member adapted to control the brakes applying force supplied by said servo-power means, a motion transmitting contrivance from said pedal to said movable member so arranged that the brakes will be applied when the pedal is in its rest position, a means adapted to determine the rate of supply of power creating fluid to the engine and including a control member and a motion transmitting contrivance from said pedal to said control member, said motion transmitting contriv anoes being arranged for successive control of the brakes and of the engine running as the pedal is being rocked away from its rest position in one and the same direction, the combination of a cut-off mechanism including a movable control member forming a support for the heel of the drivers foot in its operative position to actuate said pedal, means urging said control member against the action thereon of said heel and a means adapted to control said brake applying mechanism and operatively connected to said movable control member to be actuated thereby so that it will prevent said brake applying mechanism from applying the brakes, i. e. said mechanism will be inoperative, when the driver's heel does not rest upon said movable control member.

2. The combination as in claim 1, wherein the said means adapted to control the brake applying mechanism is also operatively connected to the pedal so that it will depend upon the movable control member only to render inoperative the brake applying mechanism and upon both said movable control member and said pedal to make it again operative.

3. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said means adapted to render inoperative the brake applying mechanism includes a movable member permanently connected to the movable control member to permanently have a position depending upon that of said movable control member, locking means adapted to lock said brake applying mechanism in its inoperative position, and means whereby said locking means are made dependent upon the position of said movable control member so as to remain inoperative when said movable control member is depressed by the drivers heel and to lock said brake applying mechanism against operation upon motion of said movable control member to cut-ofi the brake applying mechanism.

4. The combination as in claim 1 wherein said means adapted to control the brake applying mechanism includes an electro-magnet, current supplying means to the latter, said current supplying means including switch means arranged to be operated by said movable control member so as to be open when the latter is depressed by the drivers heel and otherwise closed, and contact means, and means responsive to the operation of said cut-off mechanism to operate said contact means to cutoff the supply of current to said electro-magnet upon the brake applying mechanism being made inoperative.

5. The combination as in claim 1 wherein the brakes applying mechanism includes a one-way connection between the servo power means and the brakes, the usual brake applying pedal, and a one-way connection between said pedal and the brakes.

6. The combination as in claim 1 wherein the brakes applying mechanism includes a one-Way connection between the servo power means and the brakes, and said motion transmitting contrivance from the pedal to the control means of the servo power means includes a one-way connection, the usual brake applying pedal, a one-way connection between said latter and the brakes, and a one-way connection between said usual brake applying pedal and said control means of the servo power means.

JEAN-BAPTISTE PAUL VAU. 

